Political observers watching the Jersey City school board race have been wondering: Will the local teachers union, which is negotiating a new contract with the school district, endorse anyone before the Nov. 5 election?

The 4,000-member union faces a Catch-22: If it endorses its preferred candidates, it signals to its members whom to vote for; but if those candidates win, they would have to abstain from voting on the new contract. That would leave the pact in the hands of the remaining six members, most of whom did not receive union backing in their most recent elections to the board.

Well, an endorsement came through yesterday, but it’s not the one anyone was expecting. The “Children First” team, which includes incumbent board members Gerald

Lyons and Angel Valentin, today issued an endorsement of the teachers union, the Jersey City Education Association.

No, you didn’t read that incorrectly. The candidates have endorsed the teachers union.

“We are endorsing the JCEA to make statement that any conversation about improving Jersey City schools must start with how to equip the teachers and support staff with the necessary tools to help children become successful,” Lyons said in a statement from the Children First team.

The statement includes a quote from Ron Greco, the JCEA president. The slate also includes Lorenzo Richardson and Gina Verdibello, who would be newcomers to the board.

Usually, unions endorse candidates, not the other way around. But Children First spokeswoman Felicia Palmer said the endorsement shows “how bold we are.” Palmer acknowledged that a team of school board hopefuls endorsing a union is “very strange.”

“We’re making a statement ... we stand for teachers and we want to be 100 percent clear,” she said.

Leda Duif is deputy campaign manager for the Candidates for Excellence team: Micheline Amy, Jessica Rosero Daye, Carol Lester and Ellen Simon. Duif said Children First’s endorsement of the JCEA makes Lyons and his running mates ill-equipped to bargain with the teachers on behalf of students and taxpayers.

“Any candidate that will become a board member needs to serve all the constituencies, and not just the teachers,” she said.

Yesterday’s statement isn’t the only indication that the JCEA supports the Children First team. The JCEA’s Facebook page features a shot of Greco and the Children First candidates with the caption “Dream team.”

Twelve candidates are seeking three three-year terms on the BOE. An additional two are seeking a separate, one-year term.